Separate Agendas
by lovethedarkside
Summary: Dumbledore calls on Chiron to send reinforcements to Hogwarts. Holly of the LEPRecon, overhearing the conversation, notifies Foaly and Artemis about the situation. That September, Hogwarts hosts six "foreign exchange students." This is a Harry Potter/Percy Jackson/Artemis Fowl crossover and my first fanfic.
1. Chapter 1: Help Requested

**Disclaimer: Yeah, this should be obvious, but these characters do not belong to me; I can only dream...**

**A quick A/N: This story takes place between BotL and TLO, between The Time Paradox and The Atlantis Complex, and during year five of Harry Potter. This is my first fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy the story!**

It was a pleasant day, June first. The sun was out and the sound of campers at Camp Halfblood were a loud murmur in the background. Chiron was walking by the fire where the meal offerings were made, burning even though it was mid-afternoon, when he heard a voice coming from it. "Chiron," it said, "It's been a while."

Chiron jumped slightly before turning to see a familiar face floating in the flames: the twinkling blue eyes, a pair of half moon glasses, a long silver beard. "Dumbledore," he greeted the old wizard, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Indeed, it has been too long, but surely there was a better way to meet me than show up in my fire where any of my students could see you."

"I'm afraid this isn't just a courtesy call," Dumbledore said, grimly shaking his head, "Voldemort has risen again, and we need all the help we can get. The Ministry won't help; they are foolish enough to believe that I am lying, that Harry, a child, is lying. The accuse me of wanting to take over the Ministry for myself." Indeed, Dumbledore looked even more aged that usual, worry lines creasing his face.

Chiron shook his head sadly. "I am afraid I don't know what I could do to help. We are in the midst of our own war, and I cannot make the young demigods sacrifice their lives to protect a people they don't even know exist when they should be helping their fellow demigods win this war against Kronos. You are basically in the same predicament as we are; some of your own are turning against you in rebellion, but going about it the wrong way, causing death and destruction. I would do almost anything to help you, old friend, but there are far too few of us as it is."

Chiron was surprised to see Dumbledore actually begging. "I only need four. Send your best, most skillful warriors. Send them to my school, undercover as wizards. I'll make sure they're safe and able to leave at a moment's notice if you need them to."

"But how?" pressed Chiron, "I have no way to give them magic. The only one who could is Hecate, and I highly doubt she will be willing to give out her blessing to four demigods who are not her own."

"Don't worry about that part," said Dumbledore, "Hecate still owes me a favor from a long, long time ago, and I'm sure she'll remember me. Just tell her that I need her to help me out."

Chiron still looked unconvinced. "But isn't there anything else I could do for you? Why do you want only four? What do you want them to do?"

"I only need them to look out after Harry and his friends. There are three of them, but they attract trouble like nothing I've ever seen. Trouble is something we don't need any more of right now."

The old man looked at the centaur with such hopelessness, Chiron felt pity move within him. "Okay," he relented, "I will let them know. Where should I send them? They will need training; they don't even know that wizards exist."

Dumbledore scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Chiron through the fire. "Here. This is the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. They will be expecting them on June 4th. We will be in your debt, so long as we survive to pay it off." With that, he disappeared with a pop.

Chiron looked down at the paper: 12 Grimmauld Place.

* * *

Percy and Nico were sparring when Chiron came into the the training arena. Percy was ducking a swipe from Nico's Stygian iron sword, which was radiating cold and death.

"Come on," taunted Nico, sweat glistening in his dark hair, "You're better than this."

Percy just grunted, narrowing his sea green eyes in concentration, and jabbed at him. "Not my fault you've got the freakishly powerful weapon."

Nico blocked and stepped forward to take another swipe, which Percy ducked. "Are you saying I'm better?" asked Nico in astonishment, his Tartarus black eyes widening and his sword pausing mid-swing for a fraction of a second.

Percy swiftly took advantage of the opportunity and flicked the younger boy's sword out of reach. "Nope," he grinned as he held the point of Riptide under Nico chin.

Nico protested, but before he could say anything, Chiron stepped forward. "Good fight, boys. I must admit, Nico, I've never seen anyone come so close to beating Percy. Well done." Nico warmed visibly at the compliment. He had trouble feeling welcome here, and honest praise made him feel loved where others like him just felt excluded.

His happiness was short-lived, however. "I have something important to tell you two," Chiron said seriously.

Percy stopped smiling. "It's not another prophecy is it?" he asked anxiously. He had enough pressure on him as it was.

"Yes and no, not exactly," said Chiron, but the look on his face did nothing to comfort them. "I'll tell you more as soon as we have everyone. Where are Annabeth and Thalia? They will be playing an important part of this as well."

"Um, I think they are by the lake," answered Nico, pointing.

"Okay." Chiron started off down in the direction Nico was pointing. "This is something I need to tell you as soon as possible."

Nico and Percy glanced at each other, worried. Shrugging, Nico went after Chiron, Percy close behind.

"Hey, Annabeth, Thalia!" called Percy, "Chiron has something important to tell us."

The daughter of Athena and the Huntress of Artemis were sitting on the beach, smiling and laughing. They looked genuinely relaxed, and Percy felt sorry to interrupt the moment.

"You four will be going on a kind of quest," said Chiron once he got all of their attention.

Annabeth and Thalia reacted much as the boys did, with twins expressions of worry and apprehension, but Chiron didn't elaborate.

"Okay?" ventured Annabeth, shooting a confused look at Percy, who just shrugged and shook his head.

Chiron motioned for them to follow him. The walked past their camp mates, sparring, laughing, and playing. When is the next time it will be like this? Percy wondered, A war is coming, but now we are happy. He had a feeling his life would be anything but normal for a while, and he had low standards for what was normal. Chiron led them up to the Big House. Inside, they sat in a circle, waiting for Chiron to talk.

"Well?" prompted Thalia.

"Have you guys heard of wizards and witches?" asked Chiron.

They all exchanged puzzled looks. "Yeah," Percy said slowly, "Magical beings. But they're fake, right?"

Annabeth shook her head. "It's never been proven, but there are rumors about Hecate blessing some mortals, who mated and passed down the skill through their genes."

"You're not serious," said Percy incredulously, "Like 'Abracadabra?'"

Chiron nodded. "It's a little more complicated than that, but yes there are real wizards and witches. They aren't the 'Abracadabra' kind, but they can cast spells."

"So what does this have to do with us?" asked Nico, a little confused.

"Well, a friend of mine, Albus Dumbledore, is a very powerful wizard, and he is the headmaster of a very famous wizarding school. He contacted me today, begging that I send help to defeat the rogue wizard that had been terrorizing their world for a long time. He kills for fun and is trying to 'purify' the bloodlines. Basically, they want him dead. For some reason, however, he never seems to stay dead.

"That is where you come in. I am sending you to go under cover as exchange students from America. Hecate owes Dumbledore a favor, so she has agreed to give you her blessing. You will go to a top secret address to take a crash course on wizards. There you will receive a list of people who know your true identities. You leave this evening."

The four young demigods sat in stunned silence. "Wow," said Percy at last, breaking the awkward pause.

"That is a lot of information to swallow," Annabeth gave out a shaky laugh.

Chiron nodded. "I know. But I think we could gain something from this as well. We could ask him to support us as we are supporting him now. We need every bit we can get."

Nico nodded. "Yes. That's a good idea."

Chiron dismissed them then, sending then to pack. "You don't need too many changes of clothes; they have a different kind of wardrobe than we do." He chuckled softly to himself.

The demigods went off, nervous and excited at the same time, so much so, they didn't notice the child-sized waver of light in the corner of the room.


	2. Chapter 2: Something to Gain

**Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, Eoin Colfer, or Rick Riordan.**

Holly grinned to herself as she stood, vibrating too fast for the human eye to follow.

Some words scrolled across the screen of her helmet. "Is it what we thought it was?" Holly could practically hear the sarcasm in the text.

"Yes, Foaly," she sent back, "You watched it play out just now."

"I just wanted to see you tell me I am right." Holly gritted her teeth in annoyance and fondness and refused to dignify that sentence with a response.

"And what will we do with this information?" asked Holly.

"I think we should confide in the great Artemis Fowl. He will have a plan, as always, to gain something from it."

Just then, another line of text came through. "You needn't confide in me, Foaly, I've been here the whole time. And I appreciate that description of me, however sarcastic it may be."

Miles and miles away, deep underground, Foaly stomped his foot in frustration. "D'arvit. How does that kid do it?" he muttered angrily.

Holly, on the other hand, wasn't surprised in the least. "Of course you were here the whole time," she sent, "Only a genius as yourself could hack into our extremely advanced computer system."

"I have to agree with that." was the prompt reply.

Holly had an urge to leave the room she was still hidden in as soon as possible, now that the hard work was done. "So what are we going to do next?" she asked, getting back to the matter on hand.

There was a slight pause, then "We can meet at the Manor."

Immediately after came another message. "It would be the most secure location, and the easiest to access."

Holly nodded and sent an affirmation before engaging her wings and rising into the air. "Off I go."

She floated silently out of the room, then out the front door. She flew past the kids sparring and swimming and climbing a rock wall that spewed lava. As soon as she was high enough to be mistaken as a bird, she unshielded and accelerated until she was flying at full speed across the vast blue expanse of the ocean. The bright sun glinted on the waves, sending sharp shards of light spinning in all directions; breathtakingly beautiful with her goggles on, fatally disorienting without them. She whipped past a flock of birds flying lazily underneath her and smiled as the familiar, exhilarating buzz of adrenaline rushed tingling through her veins, just as it did every other time she flew.

Finally, three hours later, she touched down at Fowl Manor. Looming in front of the front door was a huge, intimidating figure waiting for her, his gun ready in his hand. Though time had considerably worn down the innate instinct to turn on her heel and flee as fast as she could, she still flinched internally whenever she saw him. This was the man who took down a troll by himself, a job that often took five or six highly trained fairies.

"Butler!" she called, waving as she shimmered into the visible spectrum.

"Holly," came the response, "Do you have any idea what time of night it is? I could be curled up in my bed fast asleep right now." He glanced pointedly up at the thin sliver of moon hanging high the sky.

"Hardly," snorted Holly, rolling her eyes, "Artemis would be up working on some nefarious scheme of his, and you would be up helping him." She pointed an accusatory finger at him.

A cough sounded in Holly's helmet. "As much as I hate to break up this heart warming bonding time," came Artemis's dry, impatient voice, "We have a 'nefarious scheme' to plan."

Butler glanced at Holly and rolled his eyes every so slightly. Holly muttered, "The master has spoken." She followed Butler up the staircase, past the portraits and locked doors, to Artemis's workroom. A large screen with a projection of Foaly was set up against the back wall of the room. She nodded to the centaur. "Foaly." She smirked, unable to help herself, and said, "Wow, Foaly, compared to that other centaur, Chiron..." She shook her head as she drifted off, letting her point sink in. Everyone aboveground got it right away, but Foaly just looked blankly at the screen.

"Huh, what? Wait. Seriously?" Foaly stamped his hooves irritably. "They are another breed of centaur altogether," he whined, "I cannot keep up with my Greek relatives, nor do I have any urge to." He patted his generous stomach fondly. "Besides, Cabelline likes my tummy." He stamped his hoof once more, signaling the end of the discussion on that topic. By then, everyone at Fowl Manor were in various stages of laughter: Holly was rolling on the floor and hyperventilating, Butler was shaking his head and chuckling to himself, and Artemis just stood there with the faintest hint of a smile of amusement. Foaly just scowled and turned his head to the side, as if he couldn't bear to look at them.

Once they all calmed down, Artemis got them back on track. "We need to go to Hogwarts," he said, leaning forward and folding his long, thin hands.

Foaly stared at him. "If you haven't noticed," he said slowly, as if he were talking to a young child, "Hogwarts is a school for wizards, which you aren't."

If Artemis was an eye-rolling type of person, he would have rolled his eyes, but he wasn't, so he satisfied himself with staring incredulously at the screen. "I know," he said just as slowly, as if he were talking to someone who wasn't as smart as he, which Foaly wasn't, "I have a plan."

"And what is that? You can't just get magic." Foaly crossed his arms.

"We can get it from Hecate," Artemis said simply.

"How? It's not like she's just going to give it up, if the stories are true, which I expect they are."

Artemis leaned forward eagerly. "That old man, Dumbledore, said she owed him a favor. It must be a big one because he expects her to bless four demigods. We just tell her that I am also to be blessed, per Dumbledore's wishes. If she gets suspicious, we tell her that we don't know why, but it's important and to remember how Dumbledore saved her favorite child. Her plans would have collapsed if it had not been for him."

"How do you know this?" asked Holly.

"I have my sources," he replied mysteriously.

"It sounds like it would work," admitted Foaly grudgingly.

"Of course it can work," said Artemis proudly, lifting his chin and crossing his arms, "Why should you think otherwise?"

Ignoring Artemis's question, Foaly continued on, asking, "When will Hecate be blessing the others?"

"I'm assuming tonight, but don't worry, we'll get her to bless us tomorrow."

"I hate to ruin your plans," interrupted Holly, "But how are we going to summon the goddess of magic?"

Artemis stood up and walked over to a chest of drawers on the other side of the room. He rummaged around for a second, then came back, a small gold coin in his hand. "A golden drachma," he explained, seeing their confused looks, even though it didn't clear up their bewilderment. He walked out of the room, and Holly and Butler stood to follow him. Foaly watched through the camera on Holly's helmet.

"Where are we going?" Holly whispered to Butler, who merely shrugged.

"It seems as of we are going to the kitchen, but why, I don't know."

They were indeed going to the kitchen. Artemis turned the water on full blast and held a mirror at an angle, causing a rainbow to appear. "Butler, hold this just like that," he ordered his bodyguard.

Butler complied, shooting his young charge a puzzled look. Artemis through the coin at the rainbow and said, "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me the goddess Hecate."

They all held their breath as the mist went dark. Then, a tall, beautiful figure appeared. "Young mortals," it said, its voice soft and flowing, "Why do call?"

"I need your blessing, Lady Hecate," Artemis said, bowing respectfully, "Please."

"That is something I don't give freely. You should know that, young one."

"I understand, but it is for Dumbledore. He has a plan to save his race, and you are needed to help him. He told me he once saved a daughter of yours, why don't you save him? All you need is a few blessings." Artemis looked pleadingly at the goddess standing before him. He looked remarkably young and innocent. "Just give me and my friend your blessing, and your debt will be repaid."

Hecate paused and narrowed her eyes, as if sending a trick. Holly forced herself to remain relaxed. "The girl already has some magic."

"The wrong kind. You should know that. You made the wizards after all. You have a responsibility for them; if you won't help directly, help us to help them." Artemis's voice had gone slightly off normal pitch, and he was peering into her eyes earnestly. Holly looked at him sharply, and through her helmet, she heard Foaly inhale quickly.

Hecate relaxed and nodded. "Fine. Just this once." She spread her arms and intoned, "I give these two my blessing: the ability to perform magic." Holly felt the buzz of her magic increase, and Artemis stared at his hands in wonder.

"Thank you, Lady Hecate," Artemis said reverently, bowing once more. Holly copied the movement.

"Farewell, children," she whispered, and the connection was severed.


	3. Chapter 3: Big Black House

**Disclaimer: This speaks for itself.**

"Goodbye, guys! See you next year," came the last few calls from the campers. Each of their friends had said farewell in their own ways. Clarisse had tried to beat Percy in training one more time, succeeding because Percy was distractedly thinking about the wizards. The Demeter kids had grown them a special mini garden that would survive almost anything, even Nico taking care of it. Apollo's children offered them an album they wrote together, handed out in the form of a little radio. The Stoll brothers played one last prank on them, hiding their bags around camp whenever they weren't watching. The Aphrodite cabin gave them travel packs filled to the brim with toiletry supplies and other accessories. Lastly, the Hephaestus cabin made them each a pendant that hung on a chain and could turn into a small automaton that was programmed to find the others.

The chosen four walked slowly away from their friends. Once they neared the entrance to camp, they plopped down on the ground, the chains on Thalia's black jeans clinking loudly. She wore a black leather shirt to match and a ripped camo jacket on top, paired with combat boots. The only jewelry she had on was her charm bracelet and the silver circlet denoting her as Artemis's lieutenant. Nico shared a similar style with her. He wore dark jeans and a black T-shirt with his signature aviator's jacket and black and gray sneakers. In contrast, Annabeth wore a gray striped v-neck and light blue jeans with white and turquoise Nikes. Percy had thrown on a pale blue tank top with a navy blue button-up hanging open with the sleeves rolled up. He paced back and forth as the others sat, wearing down his already old sneakers even more. It was as if the extra shot of magical energy was making his ADHD worse.

Chiron told them earlier that he would meet them inside the entrance a little after dinner. Annabeth thought they would be late, as all of the other campers had to say goodbye and wish them luck, even if they didn't have most of the details of this quest. In all honesty, even Nico found it a little touching that most of the younger kids bade him good travel and luck. They didn't linger much longer than they had to, though. The last thing that they wanted to was be late, so here they were, waiting anxiously, their suitcases zipped and stacked neatly in front of them. Nico played with the steel locks on his black suitcases, locking and unlocking them. Thalia was busily shading in all of the silver hearts on her luggage black with arrows shot through them. They were still a little girly for her liking, but they were practical. Percy was adding to the abundance of doodles on his dark teal and mint green suitcases. Over the years he had collected a document of his adventures at his old schools; now, a large trident trident occupied most of the space on the front of the top suitcase. Annabeth sat on her stack, nose buried in a book. A gray owl stared from the top of her faded denim suitcases.

As they waited quietly, they were more aware of the magic that now flowed through their veins. It buzzed in their heads and vibrated through their body. It was raw energy and felt like being slowly electrocuted, except without the pain. It made them feel lighter and thicker, faster and slower at the same time. It feels like my head is filled with helium, Nico thought, I feel the thick potential and innocent clumsiness of our untrained magic. If we're this powerful without any training, just think how powerful we would be as fully grown wizards. Waves of power and want rolled through Nico. Someday, he vowed, I will be known as someone great, a wizard and a demigod, one of the first. Anything is possible with magic.

"I can't get over this feeling," murmured Thalia in amazement, breaking the heavy silence, "It feels as if I could do anything."

The rest of the group seemed grateful for the distraction. There was a unanimous nod and murmur of agreement. "Imagine if the Stoll brothers got a hold of this," mused Percy, staring at his gently pulsing hands, "All Hades will be unleashed."

"Dear gods," said Annabeth, "If that happens, the apocalypse has come early. I will do all that I can to make sure that never happens."

Once the ice was broken, they talked and laughed about the randomest things, all of them holding onto their last moment of normalcy, at least as normal as it can be for a group of extraordinarily powerful demigods, for as long as possible.

They were so caught up in their conversation, they didn't notice when Chiron walked up to them. "It's time to leave," he said, smiling.

All of the lighthearted laughter and conversation stopped. The demigods felt the full force of their mission weighing down on them once more about. They were going to live with a species they only learned existed today to protect some of them from their own folly. This could be us, realized Percy, They are in the same situation as we are. He felt his heart grow heavy as he was reminded of the prophecy. These stupid prophecies, they always have to make life difficult, he thought bitterly.

He was interrupted from thinking more when Nico asked, "So how will we get there? I can't shadow travel to an unplottable place that I've never been to before."

"Maybe Mrs. O'Leary could help," suggested Percy while the girls shuddered.

"I have made the necessary arrangements," answered Chiron, much to everyone's relief, "In a few minutes, someone should be here to take you."

As he was saying this, there was a loud crack, and a a young woman appeared outside the entrance. She was pretty, with long, platinum blonde hair dyed violet at the ends, a pale complexion, and pixie-like features, sharp and petite. She wore a royal purple cloak and black robes. Her large dark eyes needed no makeup and her mouth curved up in a slight smile. She saw Chiron and the demigods and waved. "Chiron! Nice place you got here."

Chiron nodded his greeting and turned to the four demigods, who were staring in amazement at the girl who appeared out of nowhere. "This is Nymphadora Tonks, and-"

He was cut off as the girl said, "Tonks, just Tonks."

"Yes, Tonks. She prefers to go by her surname only. Tonks here is going to be your trip to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. There, you will be taught everything you have to know and more. They are the best of the best, and I trust you will be in safe hands."

Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico all nodded. They shared a feeling of finality, as if this were the last time they saw each other like this. We're going to be so completely different once this is over, thought Annabeth a little mournfully, I'm going to miss this, this feeling of comfort and normalcy, even as we prepare for war.

Percy took a breath and nodded. "I'm ready." One at a time, each of the others echoed him: Thalia, Nico, Annabeth.

"Okay," Tonks said brightly, oblivious to the sad undertone in the demigods' voices, "We'll be leaving now then." She took a watch out of her pocket and held it out. "Everyone, put your hand on it; it doesn't matter how, just as long as you're touching it."

Percy looked around at his friends before hesitantly putting his hand on the watch. After a second, the others followed his lead. After Nico, who was last, put his finger on it, the ground started spinning faster and faster. Suddenly, they were falling through nothingness. Thalia's stomach clenched in fear. She was falling from the top of a skyscraper, the hard sidewalk coming closer and closer. She sent a desperate prayer up to her father just as she hit the ground.

"Oof," grunted Percy as Thalia landed, screaming, heavily on his back, "Watch it."

Thalia was still hyperventilating. "Oh, father, please save me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh my gods..." After a few seconds, she got her wits back and glared at anyone who stared at her for too long.

"Okay," said Tonks cheerfully, flipping her shoulder length bronze hair, "Now that we've settled down a bit, we should head in."

Percy stared at her hair. Nico elbowed him and muttered, "Do you want to ask?"

"Maybe it's a wizard thing," Percy whispered back. Nico nodded in agreement. They followed the girls towards what seemed to be nothing. "Uh, is there supposed to be a house here? Because I don't see anything," Percy called to Tonks.

"Haven't you been listening?" asked Annabeth exasperated, "She just explained that there are charms and spells to keep you from finding the house." As she spoke, a huge black house appeared. "You have to know it's there to see it."

"Wow," murmured Nico, "It's awesome."

Percy corrected him, "You mean it's depressing."

"Not really!" Nico protested loudly, "Just cause something is black or old doesn't make it depressing."

"Whatever," Percy said as he rolled his eyes, "The others are going in, come on." He followed Tonks through the door, Nico trailing after him, still muttering. He stopped dead in the hallway, though. It looked like it came straight from a horror movie with its dark interior, portraits mining the walls, thick carpet, and high ceilings. It gave off an aura of strictness and did not at all feel like the home of someone like Tonks.

Nico was running around like a kindergartener on a playground, staring at the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. "These are so cool!" He pointed at a tapestry. "Why is this one covered up?" he asked.

"Uh, I wouldn't-" Tonks said, moving forward to stop his from touching it, but it was too late.

A horrible screaming filled the hallway. "Blood traitor!" the woman in the picture shrieked. She stared wildly around at them. As soon as she saw Nico, she stopped. "You're not a pure blood. Who are you?"

"My name is Nico, and I'm assuming you're dead," he moved up close to her, "Well I can send you to the Fields of Punishment if you're not already there, which I wouldn't be surprised at. One snap of my fingers." He sneered at her for a second, then snapped his fingers loudly. The lady flinched. "Jumpy aren't we? Why? Do you have a guilty conscience?"

She stared at Nico. "You," she hissed, "You're one of them. A demigod." She spat the word like it cost her a fortune to say. "Arrogant bastards, all of you. You're worse than those Mudbloods."

Nico bristled, but couldn't do anything, as she was no longer living. Percy stepped forward and sent a stream of water towards her. She ducked and tried to avoid it, but failed. "A little water won't hurt me," she laughed.

"Yeah, but what about a little electrical fire?" asked Thalia innocently enough.

The woman looked confused. "Electrical?" she started to ask, but was interrupted by a lightning bolt shooting towards her. She let out a blood curdling scream as the edge of her robes caught on fire.

Someone came running down the stairs. A slightly haggard looking man, with dark hair and once handsome features appeared. "I'm sorry," he said to the demigods, "I see you've met my extremely pleasant mother. I assure you, we don't share the same views on most things."

"Sirius!" yelled his mom, "Put this fire out now. It's all your fault."

"No, I won't," said Sirius, "And it's not my fault you're a bigot."

Apparently that was the wrong answer, because she started wailing again. Cursing in Greek, Percy stepped forward and sent a tidal wave towards her, drenching her, but effectively putting out the flames. "What flames?" he asked, "I think you should pick your fights more wisely; it would be better for your health." With that, he put the cover back over top of her.

Sirius smiled at him. "My name's Sirius Black, and I'm wanted for murder, which I am innocent of." He laughed harshly. "But do they believe that? No. Not even when I brought back the real murder. Now I'm just stuck inside my old house all day."

Nico smiled sadly. "I know how you feel, being thought of as dangerous, evil, when in reality you're not. I know how it feels to be forced to stay locked up in case the others attack you. They do that to me too, just because my father is the Lord of Death."

Percy stepped forward to protest. "Come on, Nico, not everyone treats you like that. We've never done that to you."

"But the rest of camp does," Nico replied, "It doesn't change that the majority want me gone. I have a cabin, sure, but you've seen it: dark and lonely. It's beautiful in its own way, but it's still terrible."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Can't do much about though, just have to plow through it and hope for the best while expecting the worst."

There was a long moment of silence, then Tonks broke it. "Well, let's get you guys up to your rooms." She led them up a set of stairs and turned left, striding purposefully down the hall. She stopped at the first door. "Nico, Percy, you'll be sharing this room. Make yourselves at home." She pointed to the door directly across the hall. "And that one is the girls'." She started for the stairs. "If you need anything, yell. I'll be sleeping downstairs." With that, she left the four demigods staring after her.

"Well," said Annabeth, "I guess we should get some sleep. Tomorrow will probably be really busy."

Percy nodded in agreement. "Good idea. We can unpack everything in the morning." He and Nico went into their room while the girls went into theirs. Both were furnished pretty much the same. The walls were dark, and the beds had steel frames. A portrait of a sleeping someone in green and silver hung above the headboard. As soon as their heads hit their pillows, they were out like a light, all of them sinking into a deep, but not dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Research and Dreams

**Disclaimer: I am a girl, and I live in America. Does that tell you anything?**

As soon as Nico's head hit his pillow, he was off in dream land, and not the kind with rainbows and unicorns. This was a demigod dream. He was in a huge house. On the first glance it looked like a normal house, excepting its size. When he looked around more carefully, however, he could see the cameras hidden everywhere, leaving no spot uncovered. It's only a dream, he told himself, feeling quite exposed and a little nervous with all those cameras pointed at him.

He ventured down the long hallway, coming to a large staircase. His non corporeal body triggered no alarms, much to Nico's relief. As he padded slowly around the corner, he saw the light of one of the bedrooms on. He walked over to investigate, drawn by an unexplainable force. He opened the door to find two teenagers, both around Percy's age, laying on a king sized bed.

The boy was about five foot six. He had black hair and mismatched eyes. One was a piercing blue, similar to Thalia's, and the other was hazel. He was extremely pale and delicate-looking, as if he'd never done hard physical work. Right now, he was laying on his stomach tapping away on an extraordinarily advanced computer. "Holly," he said, presumably to the girl beside him, "Look at this." He pointed to something on the screen.

Holly smiled excitedly. "We should send this on to Foaly."

Who's Foaly? wondered Nico, And what are they looking at? The girl, Holly, was short at a little over three feet. She had dark skin and auburn hair, but Nico couldn't figure which nationality she was. She lay lazily on her back, legs crossed and hands behind her head, but in one glance, Nico could see she was physically fit. Though she looked young, she gave off an aura of age and confidence a young girl wouldn't have.

Nico glided up behind the two and took a peek at the screen of the laptop. He only got a little glance before the boy closed the computer. "We should turn in now," he said with a yawn.

"It's almost four," said Holly, smiling, "Is it really necessary?"

The boy gave her a funny look before he launched into a lecture about the negative impact of sleep deprivation. "Yes, of course it is necessary. Lack of sleep can cause heart problems, stroke, and diabetes, to name a few issues. It can also make you forgetful and irritable, which is not a good combination."

"Okay, okay," Holly interrupted hurriedly, "I understand. Where should I sleep?"

He looked around the room for a second before settling on the loveseat that Nico was standing by. Even though he knew they shouldn't be able to see him, he tensed and held his breath anyway. Holly walked by without noticing him, and he carefully exhaled. She lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. The boy stood awkwardly before walking into the bathroom. A few seconds later, he came back out with blankets in his arms. "Here, Holly," he whispered, "It gets cold sometimes." He carefully arranged the blankets over the girl's small figure.

Holly smiled faintly. "Thank you, Arty," she whispered back, before closing her eyes and slipping into a deep sleep.

Nico smiled. Love was a beautiful thing, and it went so elegantly with his father's realm. As he watched Holly, "Arty" said something that caught his attention. "So the Greek gods are real," he was muttering, "Let us try something." He sat cross legged on his covers and murmured, "Dearest Apollo, I fear an illness may be coming over me. I have the most peculiar urges to count my words, and I don't trust Butler or Holly the way I used to. Please stop this before it goes too far. I don't want to hurt Holly or Butler or any of my other, dare I say it, friends. Send your blessing, and the blessing of Hygeia, goddess of health, to me. Ask an offering, and I will do my best to succeed in giving it to you." He paused as if listening to someone. "Yes. I can do that." He winced then nodded. "I suppose I could do that, anonymously of course." With one final nod, he collapsed, unconscious. As Nico felt his consciousness return to his body, he had time to wonder, What is going on?

Nico woke up and looked around, disoriented for a moment. Then he remembered. He was part wizard now. Turning on his side, he looked at Percy. As he watched, Percy breathed slowly, in and out, in and out. Like most people, Percy looked most peaceful asleep. All of the worries from the prophecy washed away and were replaced by a smooth calm. He looked younger, almost delicate, but the hard muscles spoke otherwise. A little piece of hair shivered slightly as he breathed, and Nico found himself staring intently at it. His eyes wandered over his flawless skin, his lips curled slightly onto a smile, his long dark eyelashes resting on his cheeks. Nico was imagining the color of his eyes, the fresh blue-green of the ocean, when Percy woke up.

"Morning, Nico," he grunted, his voice heavy with sleep, "Were you watching me sleep?"

Nico shook his head. "No," he lied, "I was just wondering whether to wake you or not so we could get some breakfast."

Percy sat up quickly and blinked into the early morning light. "Breakfast? That sounds great. Should we wake the girls?"

"They're probably already awake," said Nico, "I say we just go downstairs."

Percy nodded. "Let me get dressed first."

"Alright." Nico gathered his clothes and scurried into the bathroom. He quickly stripped out of his pajamas and into a fresh T-shirt and pair of jeans. He glanced himself over in the mirror, fixing his scraggly black hair, and walked back to the bedroom.

Percy was sitting on his bed, dressed in a Finding Nemo shirt and shorts. "Ready?" asked Percy.

Nico answered by opening the door. Percy followed close behind as they traced their way back downstairs to the kitchen, where they could smell food cooking and hear the slight chatter of voices. Turning the corner, he walked into the kitchen to see Tonks making breakfast while Annabeth and Thalia sat at the table talking.

"Good morning, boys," Tonks greeted them, looking up from the hash browns she was making, "I was just telling the girls about the meeting the Order is having tonight. Normally, we wouldn't let minors in, but you guys should know what's going on."

"Sounds fair," said Nico, nodding.

"Will there be any other students staying here?" asked Annabeth, buttering her toast.

"Three others. They'll be coming in a couple weeks, so we'll need to hurry up with your training."

Nico grabbed a plate and piled it with hash browns. "Great," he said, somewhat sarcastically, "Tell us about them."

Tonks looked at him a little funny, then answered, "There's Hermione Granger. I'm sure you will like her Annabeth; she's the smartest witch in her year, just like a child of Athena. She's very serious about school, and it's basically her job to keep the boys in line.

"Ron Weasley is the youngest boy in a family of-" She stopped to count in her head. "Five others. He also has a younger sister named Ginny. His family is kind of poor, so most of his belongings are hand-me-downs. He's... got an interesting way of thinking.

"And last, but certainly not the least, is Harry Potter. Harry is a poor soul; he saw one of his friends get murdered by Voldemort." Tonks cringed a little when she said the name. "But the Ministry won't believe him that he is back. They just accuse him of lying."

"It's kind of like Cassandra's curse," murmured Annabeth, "She was given the gift of seeing the future, but cursed so that no one would believe her. She eventually went insane."

"Thankfully, Harry hasn't gone insane yet, nor will he."

Nico stood up and put his empty plate in the sink. "So they'll be here in July?" he asked, pouring himself some orange juice.

"Yeah, at least Hermione and Ron will. Harry will get here as soon as possible. He lives with his aunt and uncle, the most mortal mortals ever. They thrive on the ordinary, and Harry's curse and magic are as far as you can get from ordinary." She shook her head in sympathy. "They aren't the best guardians for a troubled boy like Harry, but it's for the best. I'm sure Harry would be dead or worse by now if he hadn't gone to them every summer."

Percy nodded. "I know how that feels. My mother married the most mortal man she she could find so the monsters wouldn't find me." He smiled ruefully. "It worked for a while." He too got up to clean off his plate. The others quickly followed.

"We won't be doing much today," said Tonks, "Just cleaning and learning a bit about the history of Hogwarts and wizards and such, so you can go relax for a bit, get used to your surroundings. I'll be by a little later to get you."

"Okay," said Thalia, while Annabeth nodded and the boys groaned at the mention of learning.

"Isn't this supposed to be summer?" complained Percy.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth affectionately, "Let's go."

* * *

Holly woke up from the sun streaming through the window. As she lay there with her eyes closed, she mulled over the events of yesterday. She was a sort of witch now, the work of Artemis and Hecate. The irony of the names hit her. Artemis, maiden goddess of the hunt, had a boy, of all things. named after her. Not just one boy, she reminded herself, Artemis Sr. as well. She smiled a bit. So right now, they were doing research on these wizards. Last night, or rather earlier this morning, Artemis had come across some records of a school called Hogwarts. "It's located in Scotland," he had said excitedly. Holly couldn't remember a time he was so excited. She snuggled up a bit more in the blanket Artemis had tucked around her- no, had given her. He was only being a good friend. Nothing more. Her moment of peace broken, she decided to get up. Opening her eyes, she wasn't surprised in the least to see Artemis up already. "Working already?" she asked.

"Early? I think not. I wasn't aware that one in the afternoon was early." He raised his eyebrows at her, reveling a little at the shocked expression on her face.

"One? You're joking, right?" As soon as she asked, she took the question back. Artemis didn't joke.

"Look at the clock yourself," he offered, pointing to the clock, which indeed read one in the afternoon.

"Great," she groaned, dragging herself from the warmth and safety of the fleecy blanket. She grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

Artemis stared after her for a moment, before the need to do more research beckoned him. He returned to the glowing computer screen, a document about the Greek gods pulled up. He quickly scanned it, pulling out interesting chunks of information and storing them in his seemingly endless mind. There was a camp for demigods in America, near Long Island, New York. Maybe he would take a trip there sometime, but not right now. He could only carry one plan out at a time. He read further. "Demigods are the offspring of a mortal and a god," murmured Artemis as he read to himself, "They attract monsters to them, as they give off a sort of scent that they can track. A demigod also is marked with ADHD and dyslexia. The ADHD was a survival adaption, while the dyslexia was because they were wired to read ancient Greek. One demigod stood out, or rather one demigod and his friends. There was an entire page about them. The boy, Percy Jackson, was awaiting his sixteenth birthday, when he would make a choice that would save or kill all of his friends. The most prominent of his friends were a satyr named Grover, a girl named Annabeth who was a daughter of Athena - I am actually looking forward to meeting these people, he realized. - Thalia, a daughter of Zeus who had been turned into a tree, and Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades and an outcast. These people really do live tragic lives, thought Artemis, who despite himself felt a little sorry for them.

At this point, Holly came back. Her short auburn hair was hanging in wet clumps and she wore her uniform with her acorn pin. "Studying up on the Greeks now?" she questioned.

"I figured that since they may or may not be our opponents, I had better learn as much as I can about them," answered Artemis.

Holly nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

"We are going to go buy our wands," he announced, "We can wait to buy school supplies until we receive our official acceptance letter."

"Sounds okay to me." Holly sat down on the edge of his bed. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"I thought we should leave immediately. The sooner we are prepared, the better. We can have Juliet or Butler arrange a quick breakfast for us, and we can be on our way."

Holly stood and smiled. "That sounds great to me." Together, they went downstairs to the kitchen, ready for the day to come.

**So, what do you guys think? I appreciate any kind of advice, however harsh, so please review. Just don't flat out tell me my writing sucks. That is rude and unnecessary. If you don't like it, tell me why. Thanks and I hope you like it so far!**


	5. Chapter 5: Wand Shopping

**Disclaimer: Once I had a dream that I had a novel published...**

The demigods gathered in the boys' room. Annabeth dusted off the old wooden chair in the corner of the room and sat down on it. Thalia sat on Percy's stack of suitcases, and the boys crashed on their beds. "I can't wait until we get our wands," said Percy excitedly.

"Yes," agreed Annabeth, "Imagine everything we could do with them. There's so much to learn."

"Learn?" asked Percy a little disappointed, "I just wanted to show off to Clarisse. Imagine her surprise when I magically tie her up in the middle of a duel."

"That isn't the fairest thing you could do, Percy," Annabeth admonished.

"Who cares about fair?" interrupted Nico, "Those arrogant Ares kids need a wake up call. They aren't the most powerful creatures ever." His expression darkened, causing the others to look at each other, concerned.

"Not all of them are that bad," started Thalia, "I mean, I know they can be a little rude-" Nico stared incredulously at her, and she quickly corrected herself. "Okay, okay. They are usually really rude, but that doesn't mean you should do that to them. Set a good example."

"Whatever," muttered Nico, then changed the subject. "Did any of you have dreams last night?"

All of them nodded. "My dream was the same as Thalia's," said Annabeth.

Percy looked at her, interested. "I had a dream too. What was yours about?"

"We were in a dark, dark room - neither of us are sure of where - and there was a man, though you could hardly call him a man. His nose was missing, and his eyes were like a snake's. It was horrible. There was some sort of creature beside him as well; do wizards have monsters? It sounded like a giant snake, and he was making noises, hissing and hacking, and the snake thing seemed to understand. It was like that for a while, then the man turned around and stared straight at us. And he spoke to us. 'If you were as smart as you mother,' he said, or rather hissed, to me, 'You would leave right now, and stay away from us.' That's when we woke up." Annabeth looked truly worried, and Thalia wasn't much better.

"Are you sure he was talking to you?" asked Percy, concerned, "He might have been speaking to someone else?"

"No," said Thalia, shaking her head, "There was no one else. Besides, he was obviously talking to Annabeth. 'As smart as your mother?' Sounds like Athena to me."

"Do you think it might be Voldemort?" asked Percy.

Nico spoke up now. "My father absolutely hates that guy."

"Why?" asked Thalia, "I mean, I could understand why anyone else might hate him, but why your father?"

"One, he named himself Voldemort."

Annabeth nodded in realization. "'Flight of death.'"

"Huh?" asked Percy, wrinkling his brow in confusion.

"Voldemort translates to 'flight of death' in French," she explained.

"Ouch," said Percy, "Direct insult to your father, Nico."

"You don't say... That isn't the worst, either. His worst fear is death, which would be a perfectly reasonable fear, but he seriously messed up when he chose to cheat death."

"How did he do that?" asked Annabeth.

"He split his soul seven times. He can't die until all parts of him are destroyed. He is going to be judged by my father seven times, each worse than the last. That Harry kid, 'the Boy Who Lived,' isn't on the best terms with my father either, but at least he's against Voldemort, so my father will probably reward him."

"Wow," said Thalia, "These people are really messed up."

"More messed up than us demigods?" Nico asked, "Sorry for not believing you, but that is pretty hard to do. Have you looked at us recently?"

"True," admitted Thalia, "Anyway, what was your dream about?"

Nico took a deep breath and said, "There is a mortal who knows about us."

"That can't be possible," Annabeth said, "I take that back. It's highly unlikely. Someone had to have told them."

"I don't know how, but he also knows about the wizards. He and this little girl, well she's little in size, but she has to be a formidable opponent. I think she has to be pretty old, by the way she carries herself. She died once too, or rather she didn't. It's complicated, but I distinctly felt the brand of death on her. Anyway, they were on some kind of highly advanced computer, looking at information about wizards. Then, after the girl went to sleep, the boy started praying to Apollo. He asked for his blessing or something and then he too fell asleep. I don't know what happened, but it is slightly worrisome."

"I agree with Nico," said Annabeth, "It is worrisome. Did they sound like they were planning on something bad?"

"No, not at all, actually. They seemed more like scientists finding a new species. They seemed benevolent enough, just curious."

"Then I don't think we should worry too much, just keep an eye out for them," said Thalia, "Percy, didn't you have a dream?"

"Yeah," Percy said, "But it isn't as dramatic as yours."

"Tell us anyway," said Annabeth, "You never know."

"Okay. I was somewhere in England or something because they all had British accents-"

He was cut off as Annabeth said, "Just because they have an accent, it doesn't mean they're British."

"Fine," huffed Percy, annoyed that he had been interrupted, "I was in a place where everybody spoke with a British accent. It was in a huge room with rows and rows of tables. The curtains on the walls were all black and everyone was eating. It was a sad scene. Nothing else happened, though there was an old guy who talked to everyone. I couldn't hear what he was saying, though."

There was a cough at the doorway, and the demigods turned to see Tonks standing there. "I'm sorry, but I feel the need to say something. I heard the last bit of what you said, and I can tell you what that was in Percy's dream. You guys can trust me, you know."

"We've developed slight trust issues over the years," said Nico, "You would too if one of your best friends tried to kill you." Annabeth flinched at the mention of Luke, and the others just stared at Tonks sadly.

"I can't relate to that personally, but I understand why you feel like that. The wizarding world isn't the best place to be right now either." Tonks turned and gestured for them to follow her. "Come on; we can talk about that stuff at the meeting tonight. Right now, we should try to clean up a bit."

Cleaning up was harder than Percy expected it to be. It consisted of Tonks and Sirius shooting spells at various sinister-looking objects and the demigods either running things up and down the stairs, or ducking out of the way. Finally, Sirius had enough. "Tonks, just take them to get their wands today."

"That, my dear friend, is a wonderful idea," she responded, "Let's get ourselves cleaned up a bit, then I'll take you to see Diagon Alley."

Nico looked at her blankly. "What's that?"

Tonks laughed. "It is where most wizards go to do their shopping. You'll see. It won't take long to get there."

* * *

Artemis was in his room with Holly after breakfast, scrolling through more information on the wizards, when Butler came into his room. "There is a delivery guy at the door with a package for you, Artemis. He doesn't appear to be carrying any weapons."

"Ah, yes," said Artemis, "It has come. I'll be back, Holly." He went to the front door to see a middle aged man, with salt and pepper hair, standing at the doorway, smiling.

"Nice security you've got here," the delivery man said, holding out the package. "I heard you struck a deal with Apollo. I tricked him once, you know."

"Interesting," mused Artemis, "He did tell me that I was named after his sister, which was slightly awkward."

"It would be. I listened to the album this morning. I know he says it's country, but you should probably sell it as screamo or something. It's bad to say the least."

Artemis wrinkled his brow. "And yet he is patron of music. How strange. I shall form my own opinion soon enough. Thank you, Lord Hermes."

Hermes nodded once, then flew away on his winged shoes. When he got back to his room, Butler was there waiting for him. "Tell me I did not see what I think I just saw."

"The delivery man flying away on winged shoes? I am sorry, my dear friend, but I cannot honestly tell you that."

"Good Lord," murmured Butler, "I fear I am getting too old for this. Should I ask who you are dealing with now?"

Artemis smiled. "You probably should have said 'Good lords,' Butler; that would have been much more accurate."

Butler opened his mouth to say something, then obviously thought better of it. "Good choice, Butler," said Holly.

"By the way, we will be heading over to buy our wands today. Could you fly us?" ask Artemis.

Butler sighed, then said, "Where to?"

Half an hour later, Holly and Artemis were walking down Charing Cross Road in London, follow Artemis's instructions. Finally, they stopped in front of an old building called The Leaky Cauldron. "Now we just have to go out the back," said Artemis.

"The back of where?" asked Butler, squinting at the stores in front of them.

"Only wizards can see it," Artemis explained, "But just follow us; we'll bring you with us."

Butler nodded, putting full trust in his charge. He put his hand on his bony shoulder as they walk towards nothing... into a bustling pub. "Impressive," muttered Butler, staring around and making mental notes on possible home improvements.

Artemis led them out the back door into a small, walled courtyard with a trashcan against one wall. Artemis walked over to the trashcan and counted three bricks up and two across, and he tapped the resulting brick. A small hole appeared and quickly grew into a large archway. Together, they walked through it into a busy cobblestone street. Rows of restaurants, clothing stores, and other curious businesses lined both sides of the street. Artemis, however, tuned out the other stores, and headed straight for a small, dilapidated old building with a sign reading "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." He talked as he walked. "I have already opened an account at Gringott's, and converted some money into the wizarding currency."

Inside, it was bare of furniture, save for a single, spindly chair in the corner. Floor-to-ceiling shelves filled the room, boxes upon boxes lined carefully on them. "Hello, there!" called a smiling old man as he came around the corner, "I am Mr. Ollivander, and I assume you are here for some wands."

"You assume rightly, Mr. Ollivander," replied Artemis, "My name is Artemis Fowl the Second. Shall I be first?"

"Yes, yes. That would be fine, my boy. Come, sit down." Artemis did as he was instructed, and a silver measuring tape came whizzing out on its own and began to measure him. Ollivander whipped out a box. "Give this a try," he said, giving the wand to the boy.

Artemis did as he was told, waving it gingerly as if it were going to explode. It didn't explode as much as cause a stack of boxes to tumble over, starting the domino effect. Butler stood uneasily, worried about his employer's safety. "Don't worry yourself too much, old friend, this is perfectly normal," assured Artemis as some shelves collapsed.

After many more wands, Artemis was growing tired. "How much longer do you believe it will be?"

"Maybe two minutes, maybe two hours. Or maybe even longer. It all depends on the wand." Ollivander handed Artemis another wand. "Try this one. Holly and phoenix feather, 12 3/4 inches, surprisingly flexible."

Artemis glanced at his companion then waved the wand, already knowing what would happen. Golden letters formed in the wake, disappearing before they could be read. "So this is mine, I suppose?" he said.

Ollivander smiled. "Yes, my boy. That would be 6 galleons." After he collected his pay, he turned to Holly. "Your name, madam?"

Holly looked at him for a moment. "Holly Short," she finally said.

"Good, good. I've heard of you." He dug out a box. "Try this one."

She gave it a swish, causing a deep boom to rattle the boxes. "How do you know me?" she questioned.

"I am much older than I appear. I have heard many things in my lifetime." He handed her another. This time leaves shed from its tip. "Ah, this one works. Oak and griffin feather, 10 1/4 inches, nice and supple."

"Oak," she repeated, a half smile on her face, "How ironic." She gave Ollivander his 7 galleon pay, and walked outside with Artemis and Butler. "I suppose you've already researched some spells?" she asked Artemis.

"Of course," he replied, and they started back to the Leaky Cauldron.


	6. Chapter 6: Wand Shopping II

**Disclaimer: If I owned Nico or Artemis, this story would most likely not exist.**

Tonks led the demigods out of the train and started towards what seemed to be an old storefront.

"Uh, is that where we're going?" Percy asked, "Because it doesn't look like it's been inspected recently."

"Is that what it looks like to you?" Tonks asked curiously, "I never got to talk to a Muggle to see what that saw."

"Yep," Percy replied, "It looks like it's going to fall apart any minute now."

"Don't worry," said Tonks, "It's only an illusion. It might be because you've only just gained your magic, and in a completely unnatural way. Try to concentrate a little harder."

Annabeth squinted at the dilapidated building, willing her mind to see what was really there. The store slowly dissolved to reveal a new building, more stable-looking than the first, but it still was extremely shabby. "Not much of an improvement," she commented out loud.

"I know," Tonks agreed, "For such a famous place, the Leaky Cauldron could use some renovations."

The demigods followed her into the dark pub in a close huddle. Tonks stopped for a moment to talk to someone who seemed to be a close friend of hers, then led them out a back door. They found themselves in a small coutyard surrounded by a brick wall.

"Is this a dead end?" asked Percy, looking around to a hidden door.

"No," answered Tonks. She went over to where an old trashcan stood and counted the bricks. Finding the one she wanted, she tapped it gently with her wand. A doorway appeared, swirling out from the chosen brick. "Come on," she smiled, "It's off to the wand shop we go." After glancing hesitantly at each other, the demigods quickly stepped after her.

Tonks took them through the concealed entrance and into a bustling street. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," she said, grandly gesturing with sweeping flourish. For a moment, the demigods all stood still as they absorbed their bizzare surroundings.

"This place is awesome," Percy stated, spinning in place to look at all of the unusual stores. He pointed to the pet shop where fluffy round _things_ stared out at them. "Let's go there!"

Tonks smiled. "When we go school shopping," she said, "For us, the school year hasn't even ended yet."

"Oh, wow," Nico said in surprise, "You guys don't have a very long summer vacation. We get out the end of May, usually."

"We start later than you," Tonks reminded him.

"It actually depends where-" he cut off mid-sentence as they passed a boy with mismatched eyes accompanied by a tiny girl and a huge man.

"What's wrong, Nico?" Percy asked in concern, glancing at the unusual trio from the corner of his eye.

"That's them," the son of Hades hissed, "The mortals who know about us."

He must have spoken too loudly because the girl - _Holly_, Nico remembered - spun around and stared at him. "You know it isn't polite to speak about someone behind their backs?" she asked pointedly.

"How did you know we were talking about you anyway?" Nico retorted.

"Hmm," she said, "Maybe by the way you stared at us, cut off your sentence, and lowered your voice." She smiled triumphantly and added, "The fact that you admitted to talking about us doesn't help your case much, either."

Nico stepped forward and growled dangerously. Percy felt the ground tremor just a tiny bit, and, out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a hairline crack crawling up a building. He put a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Not here," he hissed.

Nico shook Percy's hand off. "They already know." He turned to the boy, who had been standing calmly and watching the argument unfold. "Tell them. Tell them what I am."

Artemis stepped forward and grinned his vampire smile. "Look me in the eyes and tell me if I'm lying," he commanded. Everyone of the other group obeyed without second thought. Once again, Holly was shocked. He shouldn't have this anymore. "Now, I don't know what you guys are." His voice was layered and melodic. No one could tear his or her eyes from Artemis's. "You don't even suspect that I know. I am only a wizard, albeit a genius one. Neither do you suspect anything about my partner here. You know nothing about us, not even our names."

"Not even your names," Nico repeated drowsily.

Artemis nodded. "This conversation never happened. You will continue on your way to do whatever you were going to do." He finished and snapped his fingers. He gestured for Holly, who was still staring incredulously at him, and Butler, who never let his attention drift away from his duty. He, Butler, and Holly went one way, and the demigods plus Tonks went the other.

Tonks pointed to an old building with an almost empty display window. "That's Ollivander's," she explained, "It is where all the witches and wizards around here get their wands." They passed underneath a creaky sign. "He's been around for a long time, and he's never mismatched a wand to a wizard."

An old man was already out in the lobby. "Of course, it is the wand who chooses the wizard. I don't match them up." He smiled at them a crinkled, genuine smile. "More customers, how delightful. You, sir, why don't you be the first?"

He pointed to Percy who stepped forward cautiously. "Tell me how this works," he said. A silver measuring tape flew from a drawer and started lining itself up to measure Percy's height. "Wow," he said, impressed, "This is awesome."

"Yes," murmured Ollivander offhandedly, "Try this wand."

Percy took the wand from its box and swished it. A loud sound, not unlike a shotgun, filled the room. "Holy Hades!" Percy yelped.

Nico gave Percy a funny look. "What did you just say?" he asked, as if to confirm what he just heard.

"That kind of startled me," muttered Percy, looking at the ground, "That's all." Thalia and Annabeth exchanged a look, smirking. Percy stuck his tongue out at them.

"How mature," drawled Annabeth, still smiling.

Percy shook his head and waved the next one offered to him, and the faint sound of something shattering drifted from one of the back rooms. "Is this supposed to happen?" he asked, slightly worried.

"Oh yes," replied Ollivander, "Until you receive the right one. Try this one."

Percy took the slender wand and swished it through the air. This time, a small, multicolored fountain of water burst from its tip. "Wow," he said, impressed. On closer inspection, he found that there were slight engravings on it that he couldn't identify in this light.

"Hmmm," murmured Ollivander, "It seems as if this wand somehow found its way to you all on its own, because I did not make this particular wand. I find my three traditional cores most reliable."

Percy tilted his head, looking to Nico just like an overgrown puppy. "Oh. So what is my wand?"

"Alder, 12 inches, nice and springy. Hippocamp hair core." Mr. Ollivander peered curiously at Percy. "All water related," he added.

Percy fidgeted under the old man's scrutiny. "I, uh, really like water, just like my, uh, dad."

"Hmm," was all he said, as if he knew Percy wasn't talking the whole truth. "How about you, fine madam," he said while gesturing to Annabeth, "You can be next."

Annabeth took a deep breath and stepped into the middle of the room. The magic measuring tape zipped around taking measurements of everything about her: the distance from her right eye to her left nostril, the size of her ear, the circumference of her neck. The wand maker handed her a wand. She examined the smooth, dark wood before waving the wand like a child playing at being a fairy. A spark, starting in her stomach, sizzled its way through her arm, exploding from the tip and causing a mini hurricane to tear through the room. "I don't think that went quite right," she said, laughing awkwardly.

"It's all part of the process, dear," said Ollivander, giving her a reassuring pat on the arm. "Why don't we try this one?"

He handed her a slightly longer wand for her to try. This one produced a high pitched, but not unpleasant, note. "I think this is mine," Annabeth said.

"I believe you are right." Ollivander looked over the wand, brow furrowed the slightest bit. "It is strange, because I didn't make this one either." He handed the wand back to a now confused Annabeth. "Hazel, 9 and 1/2 inches, swishy with a sphinx feather core. A very rare and unusual core; certainly one that I would not have made."

"Is there a problem with the core?" Annabeth questioned.

Ollivander shook his head. "No, it wouldn't have chosen you if you couldn't control it, and it is just very hard to obtain a feather from a sphinx as well. They are extraordinarily clever creatures, always stumping you with riddles."

Annabeth nodded in satisfaction at his answer, and Ollivander motioned Nico forward. "I have a feeling you'll receive a rare one as well. You all have that aura of unusualness about you." Nico glared at him, and Mr. Ollivander quickly moved to add, "Which is not a bad thing at all. It warns people to think twice before messing with you."

The measuring tape went to work on Nico, who seemed extremely displeased at it. Annabeth noticed how he was refraining himself from slapping it out of his face. "Does this thing have to be in my face?" he snarled, "Surely there are other things to measure." He snatched a box at random from one of the shelves and flicked it. A shower of silver and rose sparkles drifted slowly down.

"Oh," exclaimed Ollivander in excitement, "It seems you managed to find your wand in one try."

"No, really," sneered Nico, sarcasm soaking his words.

"Just as I expected, another rare one," mused the wand maker, "Yew, 11 and 1/2 inches long, very snappy. The most amazing component is its core, thestral hair. Only one other known one in existence, and that is the Elder Wand." The man looked at the demigods in awe. "I have a feeling you guys are more than you let on," he guessed, " But that is your own personal business."

"Yes," Nico said sharply, "It is." He took back his wand and rejoined the others.

Thalia stepped forward, already knowing what was going to happen. When the tape measured the gap between her eyes, she scowled but didn't move away. Mr. Ollivander had her try three wands, toppling shelves and making loud noises, before her match came to her. When she waved the wand, a sweet smell radiated around them. Everyone smiled, even Nico, at the smell. "Finally," muttered Thalia, a little ticked that it took her longest, "What kind is it?"

Ollivander smiled. "Pine-"

He was cut off as Thalia groaned into her hands. "Seriously, Dad?"

Nico snickered. "Just can't escape, can you?" He danced out of the way of Thalia's punch. "Careful," he warned, "Your roots are showing."

Thalia shot towards Nico, reaching for his throat, but Percy and Annabeth were quick to restrain her. "I'm sure he was only joking," Annabeth said to the still struggling girl, "He's sorry, isn't he?" She gave Nico a pointed look.

"Well," drawled Nico, smirking. Annabeth glared at him, and he quickly kept speaking. "Of course I'm sorry. It was rude of me to assume you weren't sore anymore about being a tree."

Percy noticed that Nico was speaking with heavy sarcasm. Annabeth noticed too but kept silent, only shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she apologized to Mr. Ollivander, who now was openly staring at them, "They're cousins, and sometimes the teasing gets a bit out of hand."

He nodded, eyes sparkling. "I see."

"Anyway," he continued, "Your wand is actually one I made: pine, 10 inches. Nice and pliable with a dragon heartstring core."

Thalia took the delicately made wand. "Thank you," she said. On closer inspection, she noticed that there were light carvings in the wood. "What are the engravings?" she asked curiously.

Ollivander squinted at the wand. "I don't remember making any engravings," he said slowly, "I guess I didn't make this one after all." He seemed a bit shaken about the strange wands he was selling today.

"Must be the gods smiling on us," Percy muttered darkly.

"If only they existed," Ollivander said, not realizing how ironic his statement was.

The irony didn't escape the demigods, though, and Nico snorted. "Sometimes I wonder," he said. A clash of thunder sounded outside and Thalia looked worriedly up at the roof.

Percy was suddenly aware of how old the building was and how much wood was housed in here. "How much does all of this cost?" he asked, eager to leave.

"25 galleons total," Ollivander said cheerfully.

Percy handed him the money, and the demigods bade farewell. They quickly walked back outside, into the cloudy sunlight, with Tonks following close behind.

"We're going to Apparate over to our neighborhood," said Tonks as soon as they got a bit away from Ollivander's, "I know we took the train over, but I don't have enough Muggle money to take us all back."

"Okay," said Percy excitedly, "Can't be worse than shadow-traveling."

Nico glared at Percy but otherwise ignored the jibe. "Fine. I guess it would be easier."

"Alright, everybody," chirped Tonks, "Everyone hold hands." And the ground suddenly fell from beneath their feet with a crack.


End file.
